Child Soldiers - by Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge and Professor Daya Somasundaram (Published by Cambridge University Press)

Jayatunge, R.M., Somasunderam, D. (2014). Child soldiers. Essentials of Global Mental Health (Published by Cambridge University Press Section 4 (23).

The chapter "Child soldiers" was co-authored by Dr. Ruwan M. Jayatunge and Professor Daya Somasundaram and published by Cambridge University Press in 2014 as Chapter 23 of Essentials of Global Mental Health, edited by Samuel O. Okpaku.

The phenomenon of child soldiers can be found manifesting in situations of horizontal inequalities between groups with clearly defined cultural or ethnic identities. In war and violent conflict, children are traumatized by such common experiences as frequent shelling, bombing, helicopter strafing, round-ups, cordon-off and search operations, deaths, injury, destruction, mass arrests, detention, shootings, grenade explosions, and landmines. The impact of war on their growing minds and the resulting traumatization and brutalization are decisive in making them more likely to become child soldiers. Apart from death and injury, the recruitment of children becomes even more abhorrent when one sees the psychological consequences. Reintegration of the former child soldiers can be challenging. Some children have no families; either they have fled the country, or they have been killed in the war. Child soldiers often face psychological and social problems.

The authors examine the recruitment, traumatization, and reintegration of children involved in armed conflict from a global mental health perspective. The authors describe child recruitment as a form of abuse and note that it often happens in environments with significant inequalities between groups. They conclude that despite available rehabilitation processes, many former child soldiers still experience the negative impacts of war. The authors assert that effective reintegration and prevention depend on addressing the underlying socioeconomic and political factors contributing to recruitment. 

LINK ; https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/essentials-of-global-mental-health/child-soldiers/C868557CA43324AB571DDF9E3DD54F06